When I was little, my mom used to send me off to school with a cup of Jell-O chocolate pudding in my brown paper lunch bag. Chocolate pudding took on new meaning once I lived in residence, and became even more poignant for me once I discovered the joys of making it from the box while smashed on Saturday nights at 4 a.m. Now that I have entered my last year of university, I've become somewhat more sophisticated and make my chocolate pudding from scratch. It's much better than the boxed stuff and not really all that more complicated. You probably already have all the ingredients sitting around, and I know you have a hankering for some chocolate pudding.
Here are two really simple, quick recipes for chocolate pudding. This recipe is very forgiving, so if your measurements aren't exact, don't worry about it. If you don't have cocoa lying around, you can leave it out for a milkier pudding.
Ingredients1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) cocoa
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp + 2 tsp cornstarch
2 cups milk
2 - 3 oz. (ΒΌ cup) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 - 2 tsp vanilla extract (I sometimes use rum instead)
Directions1.)Combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Slowly whisk in the milk, stir well and cook 5 minutes, until mixture comes to a simmer.
2.)Add the chocolate and vanilla, whisk well and remove from heat.
Spoon pudding into serving cups and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. (If you hate pudding skin, put plastic wrap directly on the puddings before you put them in the fridge.) Lick saucepan. Smile.
Alternate versionTo make a personal-sized chocolate pudding, just like from the plastic cup (but so much better), substitute these measurements: 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp cocoa, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 oz. chocolate, 1 tsp vanilla, pinch of salt.
2008 Woodie Awards
Be the first to comment on this story